Double crimping apparatus



July 12, 1966 R. F. BAER DOUBLE CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed April 27. 1964 FIG.I.

FIG.2.

INVENTOR. RUSSEL E'BAER AT'TORNE United States- Patent Office 3,259,953 Patented July 12, 1966 3,259,953 DOUBLE CRIMPING APPARATUS Russel F. Baer, Beloit, Wis., assignor to Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 362,700 3 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) This invention relates to a tow crimping apparatus and more specifically to an apparatus for crimping or texturing a continuous tow.

One of the steps in preparing a continuous tow for use by the textile industry is the crimping or texturing process. The crimping operation occurs generally after the tow has been dried. C-rimping devices currently in use have a conventional stufling box in working association with nip rolls, wear discs, clapper bars and the like. These arrangements produce a tow which is uniformly crimped during its entire length. The tow is heated as it enters the apparatus so that it will remain crimped after it passes through the crimping means. After the tow is heated, it is forced into a stufling chamber and then out of the apparatus. Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved tow crimping apparatus which will eliminate the nip rolls, wear discs, clapper bars and the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tow crimping apparatus with an eccentric disc for engaging and crimping a tow.

A further object of this invention is to provide a crimping apparatus which varies the wavy amplitude of the tow.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in Which FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view of the apparatus showing the spatial relationship of the ports and openings employed by the device,

FIGURE 2 is a front, sectional view of the apparatus illustrating the principles of the invention and showing a pair of gears advancing a tow into a chamber where an eccentric disc is mounted,

FIGURE -3 diagramatically illustrates the wavy effect which the eccentric disc has imparted to the tow.

One embodiment of the present invention contemplates using an eccentric disc to impart extra crimping to a portion of a continuously moving tow. This extra crimping is desirous in that it increases interfilament resistance to slipping.

The apparatus is fed a continuous tow or yarn by a pair of crimping gears which are located in an inlet to a chamber in a housing. The crimping gears impart a crimp to the tow by meshing with the tow being sandwiched therein. The crimping gears then deposit the crimped tow on an inner housing wall which is smooth in texture and arcuated in design. A rotating disc, which is eccentrically mounted in the apparatus and is provided with a friction-surfaced periphery, frictionally engages the tow and advances it along the arcuate wall at a speed greater than the speed at which the tow is being deposited on the wall, thereby bunching the tow ahead of the rotating disc. The bunched tow is then pushed by the rotating disc to a position where a pair of withdrawing rollers which are located in an outlet pull the tow from the apparatus.

Where a thermoplastic yarn comprises the tow, it must be heated so that it will receive and hold the shape of the crimping device. Jets of hot air are supplied to the tow immediately before and during the crimping imparted by the crimping gears. Jets of hot, wet air are also supplied to the tow where the eccentric disc comes in close association with the arcuate inner wall. A jet of cool air is then supplied to the crimped tow immediately before the tow comes in contact with the withdrawing rollers.

The cool air sets the tow in its crimped form thereby preventing the withdrawing rollers from removing the imparted crimp.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a housing 10 having a housing chamber 21 therein receives a tow 33.

The tow 33 is drawn through an inlet 36 by a pair of meshing crimping gears 17 and 18. The crimping gears 17 and 18, being journaled in gear housing 12 are rotatably mounted on shafts 28 and 29, respectively, and are turned by any well-known means. As the crimping gears 17 and 18 turn, the uncrimped tow 33 is fed thereto and is crimped by the meshing of the gear teeth.

Fluid conducting chambers 25 and 26 immediately surround the gear housing 12. Passageways 34 link fluid conducting chambers 25 and 26 with gear housing 12. A hot fluid is introduced to the fluid conducting chambers 25 and 26 by tubular pipes 22 which are connected to a fluid supplying source (not shown). The hot fluid then travels through passageways 34 to the fluid conducting chambers 25 and 26 and into the gear housing 12. The fluid which is generally gaseous in nature, like steam or air, softens the uncrimped thermoplastic tow 33 so that when the tow 33 is fed between the crimping gears 17 and 18, the tow 33 will set in the pattern of the imparted crimp.

After crimping the uncrimped tow 33, the crimping gears 17 and 18 deposit the crimped tow 15 in housing chamber 21 on chamber wall 23. The crimping gears 17 and 18 push the crimped tow along a passageway 24 and into housing chamber 21. As the crimped tow 15 slides along the arcuated portion 11 of the chamber wall 23, a rotating disc 16, which is eccentrically mounted in the apparatus on a shaft 27 and turned by any well-known means and which is provided with a frictioned-surfaced periphery 32, frictionally engages the crimped tow 15. The rotating disc 16, having a portion of its periphery which moves in a path contiguous with the arcuated chamber wall 11, advances the crimped tow 15 at a speed greater than the speed at which the crimped tow 15 is being led to the arcuated wall 11. As the rotating disc 16 swings through its path, the crimped tow 15 is bunched on the advancing portion of the disc 16 thereby forming a wad 40. The wad 40 imparts a second crimp to the crimped tow 15 but since not all of the tow 15 is wadded, the crimped tow develops a waviness therein which varies in amplitude (as shown in FIGURE 3). This alternating wavy effect increases interfilament resistance to slipping among the filaments comprising the tow.

A hot fluid, such as steam, similar to the hot fluid which has been previously described is piped to the crimped tow 15 at the position where it is being crimped for the second time through apertures 41 in arcuated wall 11 which are connected to a fluid conveying chamber 39. The hot fluid is supplied to the fluid conducting chamber 39 by a tubular pipe 38 which is connected to a source (not shown). The hot fluid anneals or softens the crimped tow 15 so that it will receive the second crimp which is provided by the rotating, eccentric disc 16.

The eccentric disc 16 pushes the wad 40 to a position where a pair of withdrawing rollers 19 and 20 may pull the crimped tow 15 out of the housing chamber 21 and push it through outlet 37 and out of housing 11. The withdrawing rollers 19 and 20 are journaled in a roller housing 13 and are rotatably mounted on roller shafts 30 and 31 and are turned by any well-known means. A tubular orifice 35 is located in housing wall 14 and is in close communication with withdrawing rollers 19 and 20. The tubular orifice 35 opens into outlet 37 and is connected to a cool air supplying source (not shown) by means of pipe 42. The cool air hits the crimped tow before coming into contact with withdrawing rollers 19 and 20 and sets it; therefore, when the crimped tow passes be- 3 tween the withdrawing rollers 19 and 20, none of the crimp is removed therefrom by the withdrawing rollers 19 and 20 which impinge thereagainst.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for crimping yarn comprising:

(a) a housing having inlet and outlet apertures opening into a chamber therein including an arcuate wall surface;

(b) crimping means mounted in said inlet aperture for controllably deforming said yarn and advancing said yarn onto and along said arcuate wall surface at a predetermined speed;

(c) withdrawing means mounted in said outlet aperture for removing said yarn at substantially said predetermined speed; and

(d) a member mounted proximate said arcuate wall surface intermediate said crimping and withdrawing means and including a portion alternately movable from a position away from said arcuate wall surface to a position in moving engagement with and in the direction of said yarn, said portion being movable at a speed greater than said predetermined yarn speed whereby said yarn is spacedly waddedto impart a second crimp thereto.

2. Apparatus for crimping yarn comprising:

(a) a housing having inlet and outlet apertures opening into a chamber therein and including an arcuate wall surface;

(b) crimping means mounted in said inlet aperture for controllably deforming said yarn and advancing said yarn onto and along said wall surface at a predetermined speed;

(c) withdrawing means mounted in said outlet aperture for removing said yarn at substantially said predetermined speed; a

(d) an eccentric disc mounted proximate said arcuate wall surface intermediate said crimping and withdrawing means and including a portion alternately movable from a position away from said arcuate wall surface to a position in moving engagement with and in the direction of said yarn, said portion being movable at a speed greater than said predetermined yarn speed whereby said yarn is spacedly wadded to impart a second crimp thereto;

(e) means in said housing for supplying a hot fluid to said crimping means and said eccentric disc to soften said yarn and thereby enhance its deformability; and

(f) means in said housing intermediate said disc and said withdrawing means for providing said yarn with a cool fluid bath to set the crimp therein.

3. Apparatus for crimping a yarn comprising:

(a) a housing having inlet and outlet apertures opening into a chamber including an arcuate wall surface;

(b) crimping gears mounted in said inlet aperture for controllably deforming said yarn and advancing said yarn onto and along said wall surface at a predetermined speed;

(c) withdrawing rollers mounted in said outlet aperture for removing said yarn at substantially said predetermined speed;

(d) a disc eccentric-ally and rotatably mounted proximate said arcuate wall surface intermediate said crimping gears and withdrawing rollers and including a friction surfaced periphery engaging said yarn as said periphery moves in a path contiguous with said arcuate wall in the direction of movement of said yarn, said periphery being movable at a speed greater than said predetermined yarn speed whereby said yarn is spacedly wadded to impart a second crimp thereto;

(e) conduits in said inlet and said arcuate wall for supplying a hot fluid to said crimping gears and said disc, respectively, to soften said yarn and thereby enhance its deformability; and

(f) a tubular orifice in said housing intermediate said disc and said withdrawing rollers for providing said yarn with a cool fluid bath to set the crimp therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CRIMPING YARN COMPRISING: (A) A HOUSING HAVING INLET AND OUTLET APERTURES OPENING INTO A CHAMBER THEREIN INCLUDING AN ARCUATE WALL SURFACE; (B) CRIMPING MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID INLET APERTURE FOR CONTROLLABLY DEFORMING SAID YARN AND ADVANCING SAID YARN ONTO AND ALONG SAID ARCUATE WALL SURFACE AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED; (C) WITHDRAWING MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID OUTLET APERTURE FOR REMOVING SAID YARN AT SUBSTANTIALLY SAID PREDETERMINED SPEED; AND (D) A MEMBER MOUNTED PROXIMATE SAID ARCUATE WALL SURFACE INTERMEDIATE SAID CRIMPING AND WITHDRAWING MEANS AND INCLUDING A PORTION ALTERNATELY MOVABLE 